Operation Give, a charitable organization that sends toys and other goods to the children of Iraq and Afghanistan, have found a way to collect supplies for the relief effort and get them over there quickly, thanks to the generosity of FedEx.

Rev. Donald Sensing best described the operation at his weblog, so I took the liberty of excerpting what he wrote to best explain what OpGive is doing.

Chief Wiggles (aka Army Chief Warrant Officer Paul Horton), who founded Operation Give while serving in Iraq, just announced he has arranged for free FedEx relief flights to aid tsunami victims. Paul explains all here.

Basically, as Winds of Change explains, Paul has...

... offered Operation Give's Salt Lake City Warehouse, and FedEx has offered both to take a planeload of goods to the Indian Ocean area, but to pick up and transship those donated goods from your house to the warehouse.

Paul lists some things needed, but here is a shortcut we Methodists have learned from working with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), which operates disaster relief worldwide.

UMCOR has long listed specific "kits" useful for relief. Here is a popular one that is easy to assemble. It is called the Health Kit and costs about $12; they are distributed to individuals. Please note assembly instructions at the end! Also - new items only!

1 hand towel

1 one-gallon Ziplock-type bag

1 washcloth

1 regular size hair comb (not pocket size)

1 nail file or nail clipper

1 unopened bar of bath-size soap

1 unopened toothbrush

1 unopened, large tube of toothpaste (no travel or sample sizes)

6 adhesive bandages, such as Band-Aids

Assembly instructions:

Wrap all the items inside the new hand towel and tie it closed with string or yarn. Place the bundle inside the gallon bag and seal it. You’re done!

Here are other kits' contents and prep:

Layettes. Babies and their mothers will appreciate these items (cost about $10).

Medicine Boxes. One box of medicines, both prescription and over-the-counter, is enough to care for about 1,000 families for 3 months. Probably a group effort for these, please see the link for details.

Other kits are listed here. Note: though a Methodist agency has developed these kits, you do not have to donate them to us Methodists. They are perfect for the "Fill A Plane" Campaign. And frankly, with FedEx providing free pickup and delivery to the stricken countries, they'll get there quicker through Wiggles's operation than the UMC, pains me though to admit it. But the key is to get the kits out as fast as possible.

Paul explains that this part is important:

Once you have gathered the necessary items, call me at 801.259.6336 and we will arrange for FedEx to pick them up at your home or at a FedEx drop-off location. On your boxes, please CLEARLY mark them “Fill the Plane” so we know it is intended for this campaign!

UMCOR lists soap as an especially critical need. Sanitation is a critical concern. I am going to send bulk boxes of various soaps myself, plus washcloths and the like. I would add as well that batteries (AA and D) would surely be needed in bulk.

I amplify what WOC wrote about using FedEx's free pickup: make the dollar amount of goods they pick up more than worth the trip.

Paul also solicits donations. I will plug as well that UMCOR accepts donations online.

This seems like a great way to get much needed supplies to the area. Thanks to Chief Wiggles for his effort and thanks to Rev. Sensing for the additional advice and info on what to send.